Free Money for Your Business: The Truth About Grants and Equity

Today on the podcast, I want to talk about navigating business grants and also navigating incubators. Now, the reason why is because these are veritable tools that we can use. I mean, should I say they're tools to grow our business? Well, anyway, grants and incubators, you know, things like that. These are good tools or good experiences or good avenues that we can use to grow our business. And sometimes when some of us talk about these things, those of you listening think that these are things that are far away or accessible to other people and you don't think are necessarily accessible to you.

Now, I received a communication from one of my former mentees. She's based in Lagos. Let's just call her Tej. OK, well, Tej is kind of like a real name, but it's a shortened version. So Tej sent me a message this morning and after chatting back and forth, I figured, let me just come over here and make this podcast recording real quick so that those of you who hear about grants and you hear about incubators and things like that and you think you know dem dem it's for other people just so that you can know that it's for people like you.

That's if you consider yourself to be a regular, everyday, ordinary Nigerian business person just like I am. So you can tell from my name or from my surname that I am not somebody in quote in the Nigerian sense. You know, I have no connections in quote. You know, I do not flow in certain kinds of clubs per SE. And Tej is also someone who's from a similar background as me, but she has been able to take advantage of some of these things and put them to good use.

So basically, I'm making today's episode just for you to know, listening to this podcast, that you've ever thought that you hear these things are like, Nah, damn, damn. It's not for me. It actually is for you. These opportunities are available in Nigeria and people are taking advantage of them every single day, every single week, every single month, every single year to move their businesses forward. And perhaps you should as well.

So yeah, grants and incubators. OK, maybe I should define terms a little bit. OK, what's a grant? Now? A grant is a way of financing your business. You know, lots of people complain that finance is one of the reasons why their businesses don't take off, but I disagree strongly over here on the podcast. Some of you might not agree, but the reason, number one reason why your business is suffering is not because of you don't have access to finance, but actually you have a sales problem.

Because you have a sales problem, you've not been able to validate your business idea. What that means is you've not been able to talk to enough people to approach enough people to even show that you have a wonderful business idea in the 1st place, that people like it, that people want it, that people demand it, and that people want are willing to pay an amount for it. That will be enough to keep you motivated and enough to keep you in business.

So a lot of you have a sales problem. You haven't validated the business idea yet. Then even if you've updated the business idea, you've not been very good at sales motions. So you've not been able to attract your ideal customer. You've not been able to attract the right kind of people. You don't know how to get people. You don't know how to move the sale along, how to move business relationships forward, you know, all those sorts of things.

And so because of that, you are struggling with revenue. So lack of finance is not the reason why your business is suffering. Lack of finance is a symptom of a problem. It's like people who have anemia, for instance, you know, my, my thought goes out to those families, especially people who have children, you know, dealing with anemia, you know, very tough thing, you know. So anemia is cancer of cancer of the blood or, you know, yeah, I

think it's cancer of the blood. Yeah, I think so. I think that's it. But anyway, you know, that blood condition where people don't have enough blood. So people who have those sorts of conditions, you know, they start feeling faint. They start feeling this, they start feeling that and, and you know, the lack of red blood cells, people, it's not as if the lack of red blood cells or whatever is the problem, you know, it's a symptom of an underlying issue that could be caused by cancer or could be caused by nutrition or could be caused by whatever.

So what I'm trying to say is that just like with health problems, you have symptoms and then you have underlying causes. So also in business you have symptoms and you have underlying causes. So lack of finance is a symptom. The underlying cause is something else that usually is tied towards sales and marketing. So you don't have a financing problem. Now a grant is a way that you can finance your business without having to borrow from someone because when you borrow from someone, you have to pay the money back and you have to pay it with interest.

Well, except if you borrow from Mumsy and Popsy. Then let's see what else. Then there's also equity financing. Now equity financing is when you take money from someone, but in return they now own a share in your business. So for those of you who are afraid of interest paying money back plus X or those of you who are afraid of equity because you don't want a business partner by force. By force, because when you have an equity person, there's no how, no how, whether you like it or not, that person has become your business partner.

He's like, if you come and approach me, by the way, don't approach me because I don't have that kind of money. So let's say you approach me, you need like 50 M for your business and I drop 50 million. And then in your mind, you think I give you that 50 million and I won't have a saying what's going on? Like you're deceiving yourself whether you like it or not, because I've dropped 50 MI will call you once in a while and I'll say, oh boy, what's up?

We suppose run, I'm like this. We suppose run. I'm like that. The only way you avoid that kind of quarrel is if you have a lawyer from the beginning. You drop the paperwork and then the terms are, you know, clearly spelled out that, you know, you're an equity owner, but you know, you don't have voting shares or you don't have decision making, decision making. What's the word capacity or decision making powers relating to this or relating to that.

Well, if you don't involve lawyers, forget it. Somebody drops that kind of money. You now tell them they can't, they can't chook mouth. They would chook their mouth anyhow. Monday. They will call you Wednesday. They will call you Sunday midnight, they'll call you and say, I was thinking, you know, all these kinds of things. So if you don't like that kind of wahala, then grants are an option. Now, grants just means this money, not dash them, dash you.

But it doesn't mean it's Scott free. Because even though they dash you the money, usually it's tied into certain criteria #1 eligibility. You have to meet certain things, you know, from a certain country of a certain age, maybe of a certain set sex, only working in certain kinds of industries. So you suppose meet eligibility criteria, then after that there's reporting criteria. Now that you've received this money, you can only use this money in these kinds of industries.

In this way or in that way, then yeah, you have reporting criteria to meet. So every month, every two months, every three months, every year, every whatever. Sure. You have to be in touch with the grant maker to say this is the money that you gave us, this is how we used it. We're keeping in terms with the spirit of the of the grant. And then we'll talk about some of that some more because Tej has qualified for a grant and we're going to be talking about that.

And to be honest, when I first saw the grant, I was like this one Bobo, because the grant actually is by Pastor Jerry is a very famous musician. And sorry, not musician, should I say a musician? I'll be like YouTube, let me just put it that way. And I just thought like, yeah, another one because you're in Nigeria, people announce it all the time. A politician, a celebrity, they're going to announce grants. They'll announce grants,

everybody. They announce grants. But after a while, you won't hear anything about the grant again. So I just thought, you know, one of those things. But anyway, she qualified for the pastor. Jerry is a grant. Sorry, I think it's all the Jerry is a foundation, I think. So she qualified and she's gotten it. So she reached out to tell me. So we'll talk about more about grants in the future then incubators or accelerators.

I'm using those terms very, very loosely for those of you who are in the text space, I bet no Vex because you know, I'm going to define it in a way that maybe it's not 100% correct. But the idea behind incubators and accelerators is this an incubator just means you're about to start. You will have the ideation stage. Well, what am I going to do? Is this a good idea? And that stage, those are what incubators are for. So incubators, they give you all the support that you need to get this thing going.

How do I come up with the right idea? How do I validate this idea? How do I get this idea moving? How do I figure out if this is a good idea? You know, what are the prospects for this idea? You know, all that kind of thing. So that is incubator. Now accelerators are you're not at the incubation stage anymore, you're not at the ideation stage, you're not at the starting stage. You're still early, but no, be fresh start like you don't guess on small attraction.

Now. Attraction just means you have a couple of customers. Attraction means that you have a couple of users. That's for those of you who have fancy tech ideas. So people are using a website, people are downloading your app, people are doing your whatever. So if you don't guess on carrying traction, then an accelerator is that whole setup that will now give you the support that you need, whether it's money, whether it's lectures, whether it's mentorship or whatever, so that you can scale that your idea.

So now all these small, small customers, when you don't get, you know, maybe now you're having like 5-5 customers every month. The point of the accelerator will be to scale you. Let's say you can go from 5 to 50 customers or for your app idea, maybe you have, I don't know, maybe like 5000 people using it every month. The accelerator will be like, OK, how can we go from now 5000 active monthly users to, I don't know, 20,100 thousand, you know,

half a million users every single month. So those are incubators and accelerators and these are also very good resources that you can use to move our businesses forward. Now, like I say, there are lots of people in Nigeria who see all these announcements. You see everything like, Nah, them, them no be me. But meanwhile, Tej is an everyday ordinary Nigerian just like me, and she's been able to take advantage of these resources for her business.

So she has applied for incubators and accelerators and has gotten in. She has now applied for a grant and she also has gotten it as well. And these have been very, very, very useful tools and resources for her to move her business forward. Apart from that, even if you try these things and you don't see any significant business growth, the access to networking is important and it's immeasurable. You're going to meet lots of people who could be your future collaborators, your future business partners, your future founders, your future, you know,

name it, whatever it is. So they access the networking really, really good. And then excuse me, I also think you should take advantage of these things because like Tej, you know, to be honest, she's kind of tired and I don't blame her because the accelerators and incubators men is tough. So you have a business that you're trying to run. If you're a family person, you're trying to juggle spouse and kids, then you will also be attending classroom.

And that, you know, even though you're attending classroom and you know, doing tests and all kinds of things, you still have to be paying attention to your business. So it's a lot, it's a real lot. But I have to encourage her that looked edge. You know, she's happy, but she's tired. I said congratulations, but I understand you're tired. It's just just one more, just one more. Remember, just like with the other ones, there are plenty of advantages and I'm really,

really happy for her. And, and they're talking about her example. I want some of you to con consider just try. Maybe you've applied for one or two. It didn't work out. I understand. No problem. Just just keep trying. You never know. So like I said, Tesh sent me a message and then the message was good morning, Sir. Basically, she told me that she was, I'm one of the people that deserve to know this. So she was sending it to me as a private message before she put it up as a, as a LinkedIn, as an update on social media.

And honestly, I really, really appreciated this, that she was reaching out to me before putting it up there. So you remember a couple of episodes back where I was talking about how when you have significant changes in your business, it's not a bad idea to reach out to loyal customers or other stakeholders or things like that. Reach out to them in private, let them know one-on-one because this is how you build alliances and this is how you build trusted relationships.

And people feel as if like, oh, OK, this person actually raped me. So therefore, in the future of myself, I go rate time. That's how it works. So you shall put it on LinkedIn. Of course I'm happy. Like, oh, Tej, that's my girl. She's moving from heights to heights, but she sent me a deem first and I really appreciate it. We chat about this thing later on is on social media, you know, But you know, I feel like, oh, she raped me.

She values the contribution. So for those of you who listened to that episode last week where I was talking about people who like changes are coming up in your business and they're just sending mass broadcasts and stuff like that, you know, it's better than doing nothing but wherever you can. And of course, using the communications matrix, you know, face to face, if possible, phone call, conversational chat messages, you know, things like that.

Reach out to people and let them know. Now, Bros, I appreciate you. You've been one of my loyal customers all of last year. This year we're taking this change in business or this year, I'm moving to this, this, this or this year. Those are, those are those are sorts of the changes that are going on because you're one of my most valued customers. The reason why I'm calling you or the reason why I'm sending you this WhatsApp message is that to let you know that these are the changes coming up.

We still look forward to doing business with you. I really appreciate you, Sir. I really appreciate you, Madam. You know, that sort of thing. So that's what Ted did. And like I said, I truly, truly appreciate it. So she said she was letting me know all the things that are about the new update before she starts sharing it on social media. And she remembered when we started working together about how she was overwhelmed.

We started working together when she was going through and I don't know if it's an, I should say accelerator. Yeah, an accelerator program with the Faith Foundation in Lagos. Now, the Faith Foundation and the University of Aberdeen are the only two programs that I do free mentoring for. So whenever people reach out to me and they say they want me to be their mentor, you want this to be a free thing. Now, I do not do free mentorship.

However, if you get in to Faith Foundation or if you happen to get into the University of Aberdeen, and because the university, the University of Aberdeen have these things where they hook up undergraduates or postgraduate people with alumni, people who have graduated, you know, for mentee relationships. So if you're in the University of Aberdeen currently listening to this and you want me to mentor you, that's not a problem.

Speak to people in support services. They will hook us up directly and we'll get started. Also, if you're in Faith Foundation currently and you want me to be your mentor, it's not a problem. Request for me by name and they'll hook us up and we will. We'll get started. I'll do my best to see how I can help you with your business to grow. Well, for the rest of you, you want to connect with me, you can call me send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on 0806466

2140. If you want a 15 minute sale audit, don't worry, the audit is for free. So you're not going to have to pay me hundreds of thousands of naira. You can WhatsApp me on the same number 08064662140 if you they fear, but you still want to be getting updates from me once in a while that's not a problem. Just draw my WhatsApp channel. So WhatsApp me on the same number 08064662140, and I'll hook you up. So she said that, you know, in the beginning she was overwhelmed and she was doing a lot of things and she didn't have a direction or clarity.

And that I was one of the people who believed in her, what she was building. And I was able to get her to focus and I was able to get her to let go of distractions. So please, people, you don't want to keep saying on the podcast, some of you think I'm just, I don't know, maybe I'm a dream crusher. I'm not crushing dreams. Some of you sometimes one of the reasons why I know movies because you're trying to do too much. Honestly.

Some of you, if we can just kill like you're trying to do 5 things at the same time, if we can just kill three of them and only do 2 or put four of them on pause and only do one or more, the kind of progress you will see as it is not magic. Honestly, it's not magic. So we did. I would say the her idea was wonderful. She's in the, what's it called again? Recyclable. What's it called? Cyclical fashion. That was the first time I was here.

Nothing because I've never worked with someone in the fashion space before. She was the 1st and then she said she's doing cyclical fashion. I mean, I was wondering which one would be cyclical fashion again. Is it fashion with, with circles or something? And it turns out that this is the sustainable arm of fashion where you try and recycle previously owned things, but how cyclical fashion is, even from an Afrocentric kind of background self.

So they take stuff, they recycle it, and then you put an Afrocentric twist on it and then you're not able to use these things again. So like maybe you bought stuff from M&S, but you brought it in, I don't know, winter season maybe like five years ago. So instead of throwing away that thing, you take the M&S whatever somebody like Tej can buy it from you, recycle it, put some kind and carry on it and raffia and then bam, before you know it brand new style, your look don't transform, you understand.

So really good. And of course she also had a couple of things going. So for her, one of the first things we needed to do, you know, but I tried to do small fitness because I don't like people feeling as if I'm killing their dreams because there's some people who take this thing very hard that by the time we start, you know, don't feel as if I be boss kill. I'm not trying to kill your boss. I'm just trying to be realistic with you that unfortunately we're human beings.

We're limited in reach, we're limited in time, we're limited in space, we're limited in focus is just unfortunate. You cannot push 23456 things at the same time. No, possible, not possible. And the people who are pushing 5-6 things at the same time did not start that way. Elon Musk did not start that way. Dangote did not start one that way. It was 1 by 1 by 1. One thing will grow and one thing now has systems on its own and growth potential on its own.

When nothing is growing separate, they move to number 2 and then #3 and then #4. You should stop trying to carry four or five things on your head at the same time. If you're superhuman, then OK, congratulations, you are better than the rest of us. So assuming you're not superhuman, you're an order person like the rest of us. I beg you, increase your chance. When you narrow things down from 5:00 to 2:00 and you're only pushing 2 almost.

Be honest. If you're working with me and you have 5. Honestly, I'm trying to get you to one that will focus, focus and blow the hell out of this one idea. So that by the time this thing is moving well strong, maybe next year or in two years ahead, we can now move on to the next business idea and then next business idea then maybe in 15 years ahead or not. Now they'll be calling you more multi potential like serial, multi serial CEO something,

something some all those big, big, big terms. So yeah, we tell you how to narrow it down a little bit. And she said that she doesn't take me for granted because of, you know, how it's helping her do things behind the scenes. And then she says that I might not realize the impact that I've had in her life. That was really, really flattering. That was nice to hear. And of course, yeah, she apologized that she's not reaching out all the time because she's busy making money.

And honestly speaking, that is what I like to hear. I like to hear that my people, people who pass through me, whether it's mentorship, whether it's coaching, whether it's consulting, I actually like to hear that oh, I've been busy and this money is flowing. I like it. So for me, it's not bad. I'm not one of those people who get angry when people outgrow me. It's the natural state of affair for people to outgrow you. It's like being a parent.

You meet somebody at the young stage and they're beginning to grow, they're beginning to blossom. Normal one day do fly the nest and don't need you anymore. So if somebody is calling me every week, every week, every week for the last three years straight, I'm not doing my job. But if there are short intense periods where we're talking every single day or every other week and then all of a sudden things are taking off.

So excuse me. Things are taking off. Things are moving. You're making progress. You're making serious money. It's OK that you forgive me. It's OK that you outgrow me. It's normal. It's a thing of pride that I can be pointing to people and say now my product be that Anyway, so she now told me that she has been selected for the Jerry Essay Foundation Foundation business grant. So yeah, so we started having all those conversations.

It's the, the award ceremony. I mean, the opening ceremony is going to be in Abuja cause Ted is based in Lagos. So she's going to be into town. So you know, those gisting stuff like that, whether we can hook up and things like that. Then Ted is more, how will I see it? You know, me, I'm, I'm a homeboy. You know, I, I don't do anything. If you see me outside, it's money that's carrying me outside or it's family that's carrying me outside.

Apart from that, I pay attention to, you know, I'm just doing my thing. You know, I'm talking about clients, creating content and I'm just looking for my daily bread. But it's a bit more on the, you know, she's one of these people that, you know, you can't hold her shine. You know, she's a she's a very flowery kind of person. So I told her now if they enter Abuja and they want to enter club, no problem, they should call me.

I will come so long as they're the ones that are buying champagne. You know, I want a drink. So yeah, if you any of you ever in Abuja and you want to reach out to me, the phone number is 08064662140. You say just want to hang out with me. So long as you know that is buying the champagne, call me. I wish you but I will stay for long though, because you know, I have kids. So at least if I show like around that kind 1, you know,

after that kind midnight at least by three or four. I'm sorry, but I have to leave you guys in the club because I can't. Anyway, where was I? So where was I yourself? OK, grants and incubators and accelerators. OK, now this outage and I met so like I said, faith foundation. Now there's this program called OCN that's Orange, Orange Corners, Nigeria. So Faith Foundation is the chassis, is the implementing, implementing partner of the program.

The program is, is something that is financed by the Dutch government. Now they fund local entrepreneurs in different countries and so they partner with local. When I say local, I mean, you know, nation in the particular nation in a particular country. So they partner with their local partners to implement the program. So the money is coming from the Dutch government, but then it's going to be funneled through funneled to Nigerian businesses,

but through the Faith Foundation. Now faith is FATE for those of you who are curious and never heard about it before. So just go and Google FATE Faith Foundation. And by the way, for those of you who think that they advertise too much, all these programs that I'm talking about no be advertisement to none of these people are paying me. So please, this is not an advertisement. I just like to talk enthusiastically about the people that I work with, no people that I mess with and the programs that I like to support because you know, it's a good,

it's a good something. Which is not to say if any of you listening to this are from the Faith Foundation or from the Dutch government or from the University of Aberdeen or from the UK government. You people are listening and you think I like this guy most Sponsor this guy. By all means, call me 08064662140, send me a text message, send me a WhatsApp message. If when I want sponsor me because you like what I'm saying, call me 08064662140.

Let's talk. I'll sponsor you guys. Just make sure that you be paying me in hard currency because now I know they pay. So we need pounds, we need dollars here. We need good currency. Where was I? So the money is coming from the Dutch government and it's funneled through the Faith Foundation. And the name of the program, the name of the fund is the Orange Corners Innovation Fund. So what Fate Foundation does again, fate as an FATE, please fate, not FAITH because you know, in Nigeria now.

And that's also another way that we pronounce faith. So fate Foundation, FATE. So what they do is that they do the gatekeeping and the selection. So they are the ones who you cannot have access to the old CIF, that's the money from the Dutch government, the Orange Corners Innovation Fund, you have to go through Faith Foundation. They have a six month incubation program. So remember, incubation, incubate, incubate from start from start, from the very beginning.

Meaning you have a wonderful idea but you are not sure you need help. Is this idea a good idea? How can we start to validate this idea? How can we start to grow this idea? How can we begin the fine small small customer that is incubation, Incubation state stage from start from start from very very beginning from embryo stage. So that is what Faith Foundation does. So you can see that it applies to a lot of you because that those of you who reach out to me, you have 456 business ideas,

you have already tested any of them. Can you see that there are programs that are available that they will train you then they will give you money, not naira dollars, pounds, euro, good money. Some of you say, you know, I never start, I haven't registered anything. It does not, it does not mean the opportunities available. So but The thing is you never know before she applied, did she know? Was not a guarantee but she applied and she got in.

By the way, spoiler this is not the first one she applied to. That's the reason why I said if you applied before and did T no click, relax, try again. If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again. In the same as relationships, so also is in business, so you'll apply it through the Fate Foundation and it's a six months incubation program. So there's a boot camp stage where they select 50I mean 50 semi finalists.

They start with 50 semi finalists and then they narrow you down to 2020 in a class. So Tej went through the whole process. Then they're looking for entrepreneurs that have viable business ideas. Viable just means this thing has potential to grow because nobody wants to waste time with the business that the business idea is interesting, but The thing is not really going to grow. So viable, viable business. Then all the Dutch government and then Faith foundation,

They're also looking for socially impactful business models. So in other words, if you're a greedy bastard just like me and you're trying to make money only for yourself, but you're not really too looking for the community, then you know nothing for you. You can apply, but as if they will select you as you can see, you know what there's some social impact and you can say social impact is I'm feeding my wife and I'm feeding my kids.

So so and remember that for Tej, she's in the cyclical fashion space. So you know, renewables, sustainability, environment and how you see so down at the scope for her. Then I think also particular about some sectors like Agri business, tech, healthcare, renewable energy, you know, stuff like that. So yeah, so that's it then let's see what else other information do I have here? Let's see. OK, so there are two 2 tracks of funding, 2 stages of funding.

So in the early stage they give you small money monthly stipend just so you can develop your prototype. So that's the early stage. Then stage 2 prototype or minimum buyer prototype just means the smallest version of your idea that people can see, they can evaluate, they can taste, they can't touch, they can critique. So they can say oh, this is good or this is bad, or I will buy for your, I will buy from you or I won't buy from you.

So that's what the prototype means or the minimum viable products. So stage one, they give you money, you develop prototype, then they will give you monthly stipend. I don't know how much the monthly stipend is anyway, but whatever it is, I'm sure it can be bad. Then then there's growth stage, growth stage at the growth stages, that's where they give soft loan, soft loan. Soft loan just means the interest not go harsh, but loan means, you know, you'll pay back.

And then grants, OK, grant means and I dash them, dash you. So the money's got free, but you still meet some conditions. So you get a soft loan or you get grants. But then I was up to €5000 and yeah, this is the one that Tej ended up winning. Is this the one she ended up winning? I know she got a few €1000. You know, good money, Real, real good money. Then the Faith Foundation is now in the position of being sort of like a fund manager and they disperse the funds.

Then if you're going through Faith Foundation, you're also exposed to capacity building. Capacity building. It just means they want you to acquire new frameworks and new skills so that you can grow your business. And then they also want you to be investment ready, meaning that by the time they're done with you, some investors, whether inside or outside, you look at you and say, Kai, this business is ripe for investment.

Come and take my money. Come and take my money. So that's the kind of thing that Faith Foundation is trying to do. So what else? Then they also provide infrastructure and mentorship. They have physical hubs in Lagos in you. Look, Weju then also in Ogun State, although to be honest is mostly the Lukweju branch that I've been messing with for the last maybe like 5 years since I've been doing work with them. The people, the folks in Ogun, I

don't know anybody in Ogun Sharp. But anyway, you know, it will be the same now. So those of you who are around Ibadan, you know if OK Lagos people can still hook up in Ogun anyway. So that's it, physical hubs in Lagos and Ogun State. Then of course then they also have a mentor network. So that's where people like I come in and I keep saying it over on the podcast. I'm saying it now, if you are passing through any of these programs, the number one mentor that you should ask for, even if you ask for me is anybody where they do sales or marketing, You hear me?

You're trying to get your business off the ground. The number one mentor, the number one resource that you need is somebody who is involved in sales or marketing because in sales and marketing we are concerned about, Oh yeah, are we making progress, are we getting customers, is the money coming in, is the business growing? If you go and look for mentors who are concerned about branding, concerned about leadership, concerned about look, all those things are important, but all that one is far now it is in the future when the business don't stabilize,

when you are stable, when you are not stable, what you need is money. What you need is customers. So those of us mentors who are in the sales and marketing space, it is our primary concern. So you don't even have to ask for me by name. Just make sure you get somebody who the area of specialty is sales or marketing the world is enough. Otherwise, if you like who I'm looking for mentors who are good in branding and be branding.

Now, let's say our Brandy will help you as a new business owner go and be branding, continue the brand. You, you come and give us testimony. So, So that's what Ted applied for. Now, Ted is an everyday ordinary Nigerian Niger Delta beep. If you ask her who her father is, is not a big somebody like me. My father is not a big somebody. If you ask her who her mom is, my mother is not a big somebody. Me too. My mom is not a big somebody.

Well, she applied and she got in. You don't have to be anybody special. You don't have to be somebody in quote in the Nigerian context, these programs are there. Yes, I'm talking about Faith Foundation, not because I'm endorsing them, but just because you know, I mess with them. You know, we don't do flu for like last four or five years, but I've been doing some stuff with them. So it doesn't have to be Faith Foundation, but we see some of these things apply.

What do you stand to lose? What do you stand to lose? Just the time you have invested in applying there may be for the ones where part of the application means you print out your form or you lose is the 5059 per page that you printed out your application and then you sent. That's all. Anyway, so that's Faith Foundation. Again, the program that Faith Foundation is administering is the Orange Corners Innovation Fund. So it's a subsidy program.

Of course, you all know what subsidy means and is managed by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Yeah, and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, but the acronym now RVO. How do you think that RV? I don't understand. I don't understand. But anyway, you know, they don't really speak English there. So Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Let's see. And then like I said, I focused on incubation or acceleration. No point in defining that again.

So they give a seed funding. Yeah. So that's it. So if you want to take advantage of the OCIF in Nigeria, the Dutch government is not going to give you money directly. They're going to funnel it through local fund managers. One of them is the Faith Foundation. Then they're also going to be providing you allowances, you know, seed funding, technical assistance, you know, stuff like that. Oh, I haven't mentioned eligibility requirements.

Eligibility. That means that what you need to do to qualify. So yeah, to qualify, you have to be between 80 and 35 years old. So some of us are too old. For those of you who are too young, you're 16. No problem. Be patient. In two years you can apply. For those of us who don't pass 35, well, don't worry, you'll find something else. So like I told you now Scott free, you will still meet some requirements, in this case 18 to 35.

And a lot more than 60% of you who listen to my podcasts are between the ages of 18 to 20 something. So all of you, can you please stop? Complaining about. Lack of finance or no support and start applying for these programs. There are too many of you who reach out to me and you know, hi, like you reach out to me. You've not tried to grow the business. You've not done any basic research. You don't know what any avenues are there.

You're just complaining. And you are, what's the word, depressed? Like, how would you be depressed? You've tried nothing. Some of you reach out to me and I'm the very first person you're talking to. Like seriously, I'm the first person that you're talking to or I'm the first person you're considering talking to. Are you serious? Anyway. So you have to be between 18 to 35 years old. So start applying. Then you also need to have a business that solves the local social challenges.

So the examples that they gave here online are food security, renewable energy, healthcare, you know, stuff like that. So, yeah, so long as your business has social implications, you're 18 to 35, you know, you are qualifying, then you have to be based in Nigeria. You know, unofficially, they did not say this, but it's just my own opinion. Unofficially, it looks as if Lagos, Abuja, you know, all those areas, it looks like that's what is happening.

But this is my own personal opinion. This is not what they said officially. This is just my own personal, personal opinion. So negotiations apply. Yeah, negotiations apply. Especially for all CIF, remember that Faith Foundation has two centers that's Ilukweju and some place in the Ugun State. So anyway, well, shall I? Go and do your own research. Don't take it from me. Now, Please remember I am not endorsing these people and this is not a promotion, this is not a sponsorship.

So go and do your own research, OK? And make sure that is a good something for you to try because it might be a good idea, but maybe because of your personality or your business goals or whatever might be a bad idea for you. So don't just go and do this thing because Harvest Human said so. Go and do the research and be sure that it's a good idea for you then. Let's see, what else. What else? What else? So Tej, she passed through Faith Foundation and she got awarded some good money in euros,

correct money through Faith Foundation and the OCIF. If some of you are wondering where can I get information on these things, I keep saying it that on your phones we have these tools, AI tools, ChatGPT, Google, Gemini, Claude Perplexity, what see these are how you get information. I'm a 26 year old Nigerian man who wants to start a cannabis business in Nigeria. Are there any business incubators that will finance these sorts of activities?

You know, especially since cannabis is frowned upon in Nigeria. What kind of grounds do I have available? Send. You'll be surprised. The information that will come. You might find something that makes sense and then you have money for your IBO business. And yes, IBO is still illegal in Nigeria. So I would recommend that you get into all those kind of businesses. But the good thing about being a business consultant, the interesting thing is that I meet people every day.

Different kind of people. And yes, somebody has reached out to me before and this guy is a space cadet. The guy is perpetually high and his business is in sending people to the sky, making everybody high, if you understand what I'm saying. I'm not endorsing that kind of lifestyle. I'm just saying that whatever the business is, these AI tools, you can go and research and try and see any incubation opportunity, any funding opportunity, any accelerator kind of opportunity, any grant,

any kind of business support, any loan, any, you know, use these tools. Search. So now she's done with it. Now she's now applied to Jerry Azzy Foundation. That's one that is fronted by this guy, the pastor. At first I thought it was, you know, like it's one of those things, but man, this guy is actually serious. Now Jerry Azzy has part up with her KPMG apparently. So I can see that. OK, I guess this guy is a serious guy.

By the way, I am not endorsing Jerry Azzy. I'm not familiar. I'm not affiliated with Jerry Azzy. This is not an endorsement. This is not a sponsorship. But if you work with Jerry, is it, and you like what I've done so far and you want to sponsor me, no problem, call me. But again, phone number is 08064662140. But Jerry Azzy, since you are dispatching this money in dollars, when you call me for sponsorship, don't come and be telling me naira.

We guys be talking dollars because it's dollars that you're giving out. So Jerry is a partner with KPMG. That's just for transparency. They've selected 240 beneficiaries and I know one of them. That's my girl Tedge, and they're going to disburse about $720,000. That is roughly 1 billion dollars. Hey pastors, they gave money. I should have been a pastor. Honestly, I should have been a pastor. So, by the way, if you're if you want to start a church and you're looking for Co pastor,

you know, hit me up. Plus, let's show what we can do. Let's let's let's rock this thing. This money's been made here. Then eligibility criteria. For Jerry Easy, remember every grant gets down eligibility. So, Jerry, easy, first of all, citizenship, you must be a Nigerian citizen or you have to be a legal resident living within the country. Well, OK, 'cause there's some of you who are not really Nigerians. Like when I was in Kano, that's where I started meeting people like that, like people from Lebanon, people from India,

people from Egypt, people from where else, you know, even some Arabs. You know, I was, I was surprised. I didn't know that we had, you know, diverse populations like that living in Kano. Yeah. And funny enough, a lot of them are Christian, Catholic. Even that one really shocked me. I had no, no idea. So you have people who are from other countries, let's say like people from Egypt. Like there's one guy, I think his family's from Lebanon.

But The thing is, the guy has never been to his country. The guy never smelled Lebanon before. All his life he has been in Nigeria, family business has been in Nigeria and you know the guy who speaks Hausa. The guy speaks Hausa. You hear him on the phone, you think you're talking to a Nigerian guy until you see him. I was like, I know the Oibo be this, you know, well, first of all, do correct you that know that they are not Oibo, that you know they are different and then anyway they're not as Nigerian as we are.

So it will apply to those of you as well. So if you're one of those people, you're originally from Lebanon or from India or wherever or from Chad or from many Republic, but you've been living in Nigeria for the last three generations. You reside here, you operate here. I guess you might apply for the. Jerry is. A business grant then for Jerry is a Dem you have to be at least 18 years old. There doesn't seem to be any upper limit.

So I guess people like me can apply then Jerry is a requires that your business was be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. They're the ones that the CAC that's where all businesses are registered in Nigeria. So you have to register as a business name or as a limited liability company or as an NGO. Then operational history, Jerry Azidam, they want you to have been operation for at least six months. So this one doesn't really apply to those of you who are at the ideation stage, who are at the incubation stage.

They want you to be have been moving something for at least the last six months. So this podcast is I'm recording this podcast in April of 2026. So for Jerry Azidam, if you're applying, it means you must have been in business. OK. April is 04. We're looking at six months, so we'll take two back. That is 10. So let's say October. If I want June, July, August, September, October. OK, so let's say September. So if you want to apply, you must have been in business at least September of 2025, if my math is correct.

Apply to Jerry. Is it for the business grant then? Another eligibility. Criteria. What else? What else? What else? What else? Sorry, I'm scrolling and scrolling. OK, your turnover must not exceed. 10 million, so for those of you who are doing more than 10 million in business, you cannot apply. So people who are doing less, so if you're doing 8 million in business, you can apply. 4 million in business, you can apply. If you're doing 9.8 million, I

don't know if you can apply. Anyway, try your look and see Nigeria. Is also prioritizing. Different sectors, agriculture and Agri, business, technology, digital services, manufacturing and then retail. So you see what I mean when I say that they are eligibility criteria. Also reporting criteria as well. Then documentation. OK, you need to provide some paperwork to qualify for Jerry. Is it you need a national identity number that is NIN.

I know some of you are not registered, you know, just go and register. It's a hassle but just go and register because nowadays any small thing where you want to do ask you for NIN bank account number, they will say bring NIN. You want to do passport, they will say bring me. You want to do driver's license, you say you do need. So you know, whether you're applying for this thing or not, just go and get your name because nowadays you need me for everything.

I mean, soon, if you want to run for office, you want to be president to ask you for name. Then what else? OK, proof of CAC registration. OK, financial records, you need six months of financial of bank statements. OK, you see the reason why I keep telling people let's not call Mingle, let's separate our bank accounts. Let's make everything nice and tidy. 2 references. 01 has to be from a religious leader and one from the customer.

Oh, OK, interesting. Because I was wondering that I know that Jerry is a pastor or something like this. I was wondering where religion will enter inside and then from a religious leader, but he didn't say Christian or Muslim, so apply. OK, Now the business proposal, you need a business proposal explaining your business model, how you're going to grow and how you're going to use this money. You see, I told you guys a grant is free.

Now dash them, dash you. It doesn't mean it's exactly Scott free. You still have to tell them this money that you're giving me, this is how we use it. And then you have reporting obligations afterwards to be telling Jerry Easy and all of them that this is how I have been using this money. But it's still good. Because it is not a loan, you don't have to pay Jerry Azzy back then. It is not equity. Jerry Azzy is not a part of your business.

So you won't just be sleeping one day then he'll now call you on Sunday at 1:00 AM in the midnight to now tell you that you know what this business you're supposed on like the supposed on like that he has given you, he has given you. You just need to make sure that you are using it for the purposes that you claimed from the beginning. OK then. Oh OK, this is the. Pastor again. And the applicants must not have been convicted of fraud or financial misconduct, any illegal activities.

So those of you who have stolen money from maybe your treasurer of your family meeting, will that one apply anyway? I guess Jerry Azzy is just looking for honest people to be a part of the program. Anyway, go and do your research and you see whether you apply or not then. Anyway, it's been 15. Minutes, let me just bring you. To a close but summary, what I wanted to say is that look, these opportunities are here, these opportunities are they exist and everyday Nigerians are applying and everyday Nigerians are taking part of it.

So Jerry Azzy, 240 entrepreneurs and then how many is this 120,000? I can't remember how much I said. Anyway, let me not scroll and lose track. But all that money is being doled out. I know one person, Tej was qualified for the program. She's going to be in Abuja at the end of the month so that they can do their swearing in ceremony and blah blah blah, blah, blah. And the reason why? She was kind of tired is. Because as part of the program,

they're going to pass them through Tony Illumelu Foundation for I think two months or something. So she's kind of tired from all the studying and everything. But I'm just trying to encourage her that, you know, I understand, but it's, you know, it's one of these things you've qualified. The money will be good. You can use it for expansion and you guys for business expansion. And then for Tony Illumelu Foundation, I mean, that's an access to a new resource pool because Faith Foundation year is there and has been around for a long time.

But Tony Lumelu Foundation, I mean, they have access to a much wider mentorship base. And I think I heard Gist, but I don't know for sure. I think that Tony Lumelu, they like to take people through legal and finance, like everybody, you have to learn your law, you know the legal basics for your business and you have to learn like the financial basis, like you need to understand, I don't know, bookkeeping, keeping money,

stuff like that. But anyway that is gist that I have heard that is them say them say there's no information. That I've verified. So go ahead, look for all these things by yourself. These tools. Are there incubators? Are there? Grants. Are there accelerators? Are there? It's a pain in the. Neck to apply. But when you get in. It will be worth it. If you succeed, you will get money. Whether you get money or not. You have access to networks,

your worldview. Will be expanded. You will see quality men and quality women, people who are moving and shaking. You will see 18 year olds doing things. Your eyes will open. You will see quality people in. Nigeria. Your frame of view, Your outlook. On Life will change, you will. See that there are people who are. Taking flights, Nigeria is rubbish, this is not working, blah blah, blah and you will see that there are people who are moving forward deliberately with their lives.

That story that I told you guys about the. Fellow who is a Margot farmer, I say Margot. You know, like fly Margot. The guy farms Margot, that was like 4 years ago was through Faith foundation. I was taking them in a class on I think it was a class on sales or something. The guy was a maggot farmer. Revenues 10 million naira. No 10 million naira. Is nothing but. You know, 5-6 years ago. Sorry, let's say 4-5 years ago. It's been a while.

Sure, 110,000,000 naira was not beans. First of all, I was even wondering how does somebody make 10 million naira annually selling maggots? Who sells maggots? Who? I mean who buys maggots? How do you even farm a maggot? But anyway, you know what's a big class? So me and the guy, no, we couldn't really chat or nothing like that. But this is what I am saying. You will see people who are doing things in this country. You will blow your paradigm about what?

Is possible apply If you can get into any of these rooms, apply. Your life would not be the same again, even if now, Jack. By where you want Jack by. No problem. Apply. Let your eye open so that when you Jack. By you are open. To opportunities you feel me No be them them This thing is real, it's happening my. Mentor reached out to me. Sorry my. Mentee reached out to me, just qualified. So 240 Nigerians are getting their money.

I know one of them. I don't know, 239 apply. Could be you. And let me repeat again because some of you think I'm losing track because I'm accepting sponsorships or something. Jerry Azer did not give me money. Faith Foundation did not. Give me money. The Dutch government has not give me money. It's just that when, IF with you, if I think you're a correct person, I will shout your, I'll shout your praise because you know if.

There's something good it needs to be. Said people need to hear it. So these people have not given me money, but like I said, if you'd love to connect with. Me you can. Call me, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140. If you're interested in the 15 minutes, say Allotic WhatsApp me on the same number 08064662140. Would you like to join my WhatsApp channel? Send me a message and I'll hook you up so that you can stay update updated with the stuff that we're going through.

So even though these people are not. Giving me money. If you affiliated with them in any way and you want to support your boy, by all means, I'm open for sponsorships. Call me 08064662140. Let's make it happen. But if you are calling on behalf of the Dutch government, if you are calling on behalf of Orange Corners, if you're calling on behalf of Pastor Jerry, is it? You should not be quoting me in naira. Don't quote me naira.

I beg. Quote me pounds, quote me dollars, quote me EUR Do not quote me naira. Anyway. So yeah, that's it. I'll catch you all some other time.